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The big One I caught and the One that got away
During my time programming with the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival two sets of events stand out amongst the rest for very opposite reasons. The first set of events were actually a special pre-festival showcase that combined music with a wonderful visual art exhibition in the downstairs space of the Berkeley Church. The first night of…
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Smoking Jazz Hands
My three years programming for the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival was a whirlwind of great music and high drama. Most of the drama was from the festival and ultimately led to me having to sue them for my last pay cheque (which they did settle eventually). Also, it was a constant battle convincing them of the…
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Super Danes and DJ Skates
Over the six years I worked at Harbourfront Centre I promoted hundreds of concerts, art openings, literary events and even a ferris wheel that you sat in cars instead of the usual seats. Music highlights for me included a working afternoon with dynamo diva Angelique Kidjo as well as singing/dancing at concerts by Billy Bragg, Los…
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The Flyer Vault
I first met Daniel Tate, the creator and curator of the exceptional The Flyer Vault project, when he was an elder teenager working on shows with the R.E.M.G. crew (I was publicizing their shows at the time). He was always a joy to work with and we had many laughs and “wow, did that just happen?!”…
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Dig.ing.it.aLL at The Rivoli
One of my favourite music projects/series I did was called dig.it.aLL (a play on the word digital) – which was a fusion of live electronica with DJs and visuals. The main reason I liked it so much was I had almost total control of all elements (bands, concept, the look, promotion, the venue) and it…
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My Smirnoff Experiences
For those in the DJ and club industry scene, it is well known that Smirnoff has been a master at brand activations in this area for more than two decades. The Smirnoff Experience has a name for many different events and promotions over the years, the ones I was involved with took place in 2001…
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Revival Renaissance
Shortly after leaving The Comfort Zone I was approached to check out this new club opening called Revival. I wasn’t so into booking a club again but as soon as I saw how amazing the place looked with a long marble bar and high ceilings, well I was excited by the possibilities. The location was originally…
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Beyond your Comfort Zone
I suppose the best way to launch a blog about working in the live music and club scene is to start where I began, at the infamous The Comfort Zone. Of all the venues I took part in, people are always most interested about this one as they have heard rumours about it and/or had…
FLYER Encore – replaying the music & events I helped create
Flyer Encore author – Shane G
I am a virtuoso communicator and event planner who has programmed and promoted hundreds of concerts and events at premier Toronto clubs, Harbourfront Centre and with the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival. I have also produced more than 300 media events for the City of Toronto. From 1999 through 2006 my company Rhythmethod Productions dynamically combined event and artist programming with promotions, marketing and publicity.
FlyerEncore.ca 